GeorgeandDot said: "There are a lot. I feel like all four of the Oscar winners this year are going to be an example of this. Especially, Regina King who has somehow become the frontrunner for supporting actress even though she doesn't do anything award worthy in Beale Street. I feel like Glenn Close really doesn't do anything particularly impressive in The Wife, especially considering she's given several far superior performances in her lifetime. Rami Malek is never believable as Freddie Mercury and Mahershala Ali doesn't do anything impressive enough to justify getting a second Academy Award within two years of his first win. I think all four are completely forgettable performances that will fade away."
Boy, are you tough. IMO, Glenn Close is giving the best performance of her movie career after Jenny Fields. Clearly, the role is not a showy one, but I believed every nuance, glance, etc.; then, when she exploded, she proved she can explode with the best of them. The thing I love about Close is her ability to do totally over the top believably, e.g., Sunset Blvd. or Fatal Attraction, which I otherwise hated; and then go the opposite extreme and give such a quiet performance. Again, IMO, I think Ali and King were both outstanding in their roles...I would definitely vote for Ali, were I a member of the academy, and either Amy Adams or King in their category, which is incredibly strong, especially when you consider some of the performances not nominated, e.g., Nicole Kidman and Claire Foy, to name two off the top of my head.
Re my response to the subject, I think there are certain performances that were 'of their time', i.e., pretty overacted when that was okay, e.g., Susan Hayward 'I Want to Live' or Elizabeth Taylor in her 'I'm Not Dead Yet' Butterfield 8 performance. I also know that it was a consolation prize, but Julie Andrews' Oscar has always been positively absurd to me. Also, Jessica Lange for Big Sky, which is right up there as the worst year ever for actresses. In terms of 'can't stand, I would have to go with Jessica Lange, who I otherwise like a lot.
Re actors, there is a tie between Jean Dujardin in The Artist, a movie about which I loathed everything except Berenice Bejo; and Al Pacino, already in his chew up the scenery phase for his consolation prize for Scent of a Woman.
For supporting actress, in what is probably the most overacted performance ever, Katina Paxinou for For Whom the Bell Tolls.
Finally, supporting actor, there is no performance I cant stand, although I think a couple of the wins were ridiculous, e.g., Don Ameche
